Miscellaneous Parts, Telescope, Springfield Newtonian

These are miscellaneous parts from a Springfield - style Newtonian telescope. The manufacturer is unknown, but the design is a faithful rendition of Russell W. Porter’s design and instruments made on that design by John Pierce in the 1930s. Mr. Steve Smith, the donor, reported that his uncle, Harvey L. Walsh, found this telescope on a Virginia farm during a trip. He does not know when this happened or where the farm was. Walsh purchased the telescope and then restored it.

The Springfield Newtonian telescope represents how one of the nation’s most respected telescope designers (Russell W. Porter) suggested that telescopes be built to accommodate observers with physical limitations, or observers who wished to observe in comfort. The Springfield, so-named for the town where it was first built, remained a popular design for many years among amateurs but apparently was never built commercially. The most extensive discussions of this design can be found in the Amateur Telescope Making book series.